For the average mere mortal, seeing a leopard sleeping in its natural environment is a dream come true. For this lucky contributor, the day’s game drive brought three leopards and plenty of action.
Wildlife photographer Michael Johnson shared his amazing footage with Latest Sightings. He filmed it while visiting South Africa’s Pilanesberg National Park. To see more of his work, you can follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
Know a leopard by its spots
The action begins as we join Michael at his sighting. Near the roadside, we see a female leopard nicknamed Kimbia.
Although leopards may look alike at first glance, with a practiced eye, they can be told apart. Each leopard has a uniquely marked rosette-patterned coat and whisker spot markings.
Leopard crawl
Subsequently, she passes within metres of Michael’s position. With her body held low to the ground and attention laser-focused, she is clearly stalking something.
Leopards are stalk-and-ambush hunters, meaning they must get within a certain distance before striking. Since they lack endurance over distance, remaining undetected during the stalking process is vital.
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Constantly evaluating
After following the depression along the road, Kimbia then uses the scant cover to assess her target’s behaviour. Hidden in a small thicket, a small herd of impala feed unaware of the approaching threat.
Throughout the stalk, Kimbia is constantly evaluating a multitude of variables, including available cover, wind direction, foot placement, etc. Failure to do so will result in failure.
Accordingly, when she sees something that is not to her liking, she repositions herself. These small adjustments are the hallmark of a seasoned killer.
Last checks before liftoff
Still undetected by the impala, Kimbia pauses a moment to do a final assessment.
Then, having decided it’s all system go, she launches her blitz attack on the still-unsuspecting antelope.
In just a few strides, she accelerates to a top speed of 60 km/h, rapidly closing the distance to the herd.
So far, everything is going according to plan. But with only one in three attempts succeeding, her next meal is far from secure.
The herd scatters
As Kimbia bursts into their midst, the herd scatters and we lose sight of her behind the thicket.
Thankfully, however, Michael manages to relocate her.
There, we see that she has been successful as she drags her kill away from the scene.
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Second leopard
In the next sequence, we see another female leopard investigating sounds coming from a thicket.
The sounds are from helmeted guineafowl, hen-sized, ground-dwelling birds that live in large, raucous flocks.
As their chorus grows, the leopard decides to act sooner rather than later. Accordingly, she dashes into the thicket, and the birds scatter with the usual accompanying cacophony. Unfortunately, in her haste, the predator missed.
Cherry on top
In the last of his leopard sightings for the day, Michael spotted another familiar individual: Motsamai.
In this case, he followed her on patrol before she finally leapt up a tree to scout for prey. If you’ve seen more than three leopards in a single day, be sure to send your footage to Latest Sightings.
